Content Warning: the following article contains discussions on abuse.
Former Kapamilya actress Liza Soberano has shared one of the most personal and painful stories of her life, opening up about a childhood marked by instability, abuse, and the challenges of growing up in a broken home.
In the latest episode of the podcast-cinema-documentary YouTube channel Can I Come In?, Liza said that she was born to young parents, her mother Jacqueline and father John, who struggled to make ends meet while juggling multiple jobs.
“One thing common is they were so misguided. When I was born, these two kids, they were just two children. They were working multiple jobs to make ends meet,” Liza said. “They were kind of like this Bonnie and Clyde duo.”
She shared that her mother battled a crystal meth addiction, while her father faced cases involving drug manufacturing, illegal firearms, and a restraining order violation before being deported to the Philippines. Left in the U.S. with her mother, Liza and her younger brother endured a turbulent upbringing.
One of her earliest traumatic memories was at just two years old, involving her mother’s then-boyfriend, Michael.
“My earliest memory of all this trauma was after my mom and dad broke up, my mom started dating this guy named Michael. That guy was really bad news. There was a moment where he had stolen a minivan from off the street and then he took me, my mom, and little brother and I was probably 2 at the time and my brother is 1,” Liza recalled.
They lived out of the stolen van for days, prompting her mother’s family to report them missing. Liza recalled trying to escape but being caught by Michael, leading to a fight where both he and her mother screamed at her. She alleged that while her mother was away, Michael once ordered her to harm her baby brother and physically assaulted her.
Her mother eventually called the police, leading to Michael’s arrest. Liza’s mother was also taken into custody, leaving her and her brother parentless. The siblings entered foster care, moving between several homes before staying for eight months with Melissa, her mother’s former high school friend.
“Apparently I went through a few homes before I stayed the longest in. It was with this lady named Melissa. She was supposedly my mom’s high school best friend but it was very far from the truth. I ended up staying with her for 8 months. In the beginning it was alright and then eventually she started treating me differently,” Liza revealed.
What began as a seemingly safe placement soon turned abusive. She claimed she and her brother were confined to their room, mocked during family activities, and treated as animals.
“For a while after that, they will do family movie night once a week and I was the only one to participate in family movie night because I was the family dog. They would literally call me the family dog and I would have to sit in like a big cardboard box behind the sofa and I would actually sit there like a dog,” she said.
She alleged more disturbing incidents including being forced to eat food that made her choke without help, cleaning dog feces with her tongue, and being locked overnight in a cold garage.
“She started really abusing me, not just psychologically. The first instance was when I was eating spaghetti at the table and this is why I have a phobia of meatballs now. I was forced to eat one and I choked. She didn't do anything and she just watched me.”
However, Liza did not think about her foster guardian and family’s acts as they pretended to be good to her at some time due to regular social worker visits. With that, Liza said she lied about her well-being out of fear and a desire to believe that her foster guardian cared for her.
“I noticed this pattern. She would treat me really badly but whenever it was about time the social worker would come by she would treat me extra nicely. She would just tell me the things I just wanted to hear. I’d lied that I’d say that everything is fine, that I was happy, that Melissa was so good to me, that the kids are so good to me that the conditions are fine,” Liza added. “I would believe it when she said she loves me.”
She was eventually removed from the home after a social worker saw her true condition during an unannounced visit.
However, things were still not better as she and her brother were then sent to the Philippines to live with their estranged father due to her grandparents' health and financial setbacks and to her mom already having a new family.
“I am strongly opposed to this,” Liza admitted. “I didn’t like my dad at all. I didn't grow up with him. I knew of him. I would talk to him on the phone from time to time but I could never imagine myself going to the Philippines and living with him full time but that's what needed to happen. At the age of 10, my brother and I migrated to the Philippines to live with my estranged father.”
After moving to the Philippines at the age of 10, she struggled with culture shock and emotional discomfort.
“It was uncomfortable because he demanded so much from me as a daughter that I felt unmerited because he was not around,” she shared.
“A lot was going on. A lot of fear. A lot of uncertainty and then out of nowhere this guy comes up to me and kisses me on the cheek and it’s my father. I just pushed him and I feel disgusted,” she added.
“He expected that we would act like we knew each other all this time but we just had conversations on the phone that would last like three minutes,” Liza said. “He didn't know how to take it step by step and he just made me uncomfortable.”
This is the first time Liza has spoken publicly about her traumatic childhood. She also confirmed her breakup with longtime onscreen and real-life partner Enrique Gil and reflected on her career journey.
By the end of the video, Liza said telling her story made her feel free.
“Hope (her real name)," she told herself, “I promise you I won’t ever let anyone make you feel inferior. Ever.”
She symbolically served a piece of cake to every person who had hurt her, and to herself, to let go of past pain.
“It feels safe to release. I never feel like anybody was actually listening to me even if I’m crying for help. It’s nice so thank you and I hope that everyone will be a little kinder to themselves and not tolerate bulls**t. Don't let people hurt you. Don't stay because you are afraid of rocking the boat. Love yourself first and life will get so much better,” she said ending the video.